Are You Guarding Your Heart?

Guarding our hearts does not mean shutting off from feelings in order to not get hurt in the process. It’s about being wise about the things that we do allow ourselves to feel.

Our feelings come from what we think. And what we think comes from our thinking habits. For example, if I am in the habit of worrying or meditating on the negative, then I’ll feel anxious or stressed out often.

So guarding our heart starts from guarding our thoughts. And in some cases, that means breaking those bad habits of worrying and building new positive habits.

A wife can start thinking that she has made a mistake by marrying her husband. If she continues meditating on those negative thoughts towards her husband, then she will start feeling miserable in her marriage.

Alternatively, the same wife can choose to focus on the positive qualities of her husband and start praising the Lord for him and really putting in the effort and work into her marriage. She can start praying for her husband & marriage and ask God to help her become a better wife.

Thinking positive about her marriage will help her to feel positive about it too. And if she really perseveres in those positive thoughts, then she will believe that she is married to the love of her life and that it was indeed God’s will for them to marry.

I am not saying that positive thinking will move mountains, but prayer will. And positive hopeful thinking does help to guard our hearts from anxiety.

Just choosing her thoughts wisely will help her to be joyful in her marriage. And this same principle can be applied to any area of life – education, work, identity and others.

Before I came to Christ, I was a worrier. I still struggle with worry occasionally, but now I also know what to do about it!

It’s all about blocking those negative thoughts. And instead shifting our attention towards God and asking Him to work things out or give us the strength & wisdom to work them out.

The best way to safeguard your heart from feeling negative about your marriage, work, or life in general; is by thanking God every day for all the blessings in those areas.

That’s not to say that God does not want us to desire to improve those areas! There are always things we can work on in our marriage, home, and ourselves.

But I also think it’s important to keep a joyful & thankful heart. In fact, the Bible says to do so.

I created a short list of some really nice Bible verses to meditate on or even put around your house to help you guard your heart:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (NIV, Philippians 4:6).

“Rejoice always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

“The Lord is my strength and my shield;my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him” (Psalm 28:7).

Do you know any other Bible verses that can help us guard our hearts? Would love to hear from you in the comments!